Witnesses told Ma’an that Israeli forces deployed at the eastern border near the neighborhood of al-Shujayya opened live fire at Palestinian farmers and bird hunters, forcing them to flee the area.
Meanwhile, Israeli naval forces opened live fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Beit Lahiya north of the Gaza Strip early in the morning.
No injuries were reported during the incidents.
An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an that a fishing vessel had "deviated from the designated fishing zone," when Israeli forces shouted for the vessel to stop and fired "warning shots," causing the fishermen to return to the besieged enclave. However, the spokesperson was unaware of the other incidents.
Israeli military incursions inside the besieged Gaza Strip and near the “buffer zone" which lies on both land and sea sides of Gaza, have long been a near-daily occurrence.
Palestinians who work near the “buffer zone” between the Palestinian enclave and Israel often come under fire from military forces, as the Israeli military has not made clear the precise area of the designated zone.
The Israeli army regularly open fires on Palestinian fishermen and farmers along the border areas, despite a ceasefire agreement that ended the 2014 war.
The practice has in effect destroyed much of the agricultural and fishing sectors of the blockaded coastal enclave.
Israeli forces also regularly detain Palestinian fisherman off the coast of Gaza working within the fishing zone, generally for alleged security reasons.
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Israeli forces detained 71 fishermen and confiscated 22 fishing boats throughout 2015.
The center said that Israeli naval forces also opened fire on Palestinian fishermen at least 139 times over the course of the year, wounding 24 and damaging 16 fishing boats.
